I saw this film when the cable channel American Movie Classics ran it on Valentine's Day in 1996 and I cannot think of a more appropriate film for the holiday. If ever there was a film that captures the magic and the true spirit of love, it is this one. The plot is so simplistic, it has been co- opted for several films since, but this one does it best. Two people, both with physical imperfections find love and, because of this, their physical afflictions disappear. But this film's plot goes one step further, it has the lover's believing that they truly have been magically transformed.

Dorothy McGuire plays Laura Pennington with quiet reserve and magical charm. She is supposed to be "homely," a young boy tells us so, but we really don't think of her as such. The make-up artist doesn't overdue her ugliness and we like her so much, we already overlook her lack of beauty. McGuire really comes alive when she talks, especially to handsome Robert Young ("Marcus Welby" himself). McGuire is so charming and so wide-eyed when Young first appears that we can't believe he doesn't immediately drop his snooty fiance (Hillary Brooke) and set up house with the naive girl he's just met. For a bit, this charm of McGuire's works against her in the film. We don't see her as unappealing. In fact, it isn't until she goes to the USO canteen and not one of the stag servicemen will dance with her that we truly feel empathy for her shortcomings. Finally, when the film features a bit of trick photography, and McGuire goes from ugly to beautiful between two shots, towards the climax of the film, we truly see her unattractiveness. Compared to the beauty we (and Young) see her to be, her true appearance is obviously rather plain.

Young, meanwhile turns in a rather iffy performance. He doesn't have much of a character to back him up and so we don't really get to feel deeply for him. He is going into the service at the film's beginning and we do see why, his parents are dreadful, but this doesn't explain why on earth he would want to marry Brooke. After he returns from the war, with a face disfigured on one side and a bum arm to accompany it, his anger and despair keep us from him. He flip-flops from hurt to hurtful much to easily. Young doesn't have a perfect script to work from and so he falters at time. But when he shares the screen with McGuire, her radiance shines enough to carry him through.

Mildred Natwick, one of my all-time favorite character actresses, gets forth billing here after Herbert Marshall. Marshall plays a blind composer and acts as a bridge between the viewer and the film's story and characters. His part is supposed to be poetic and yet, he to suffers from the rather wobbly script too. Natwick has better luck but even she falters a bit. When she talks to McGuire early in the film, she talks in a rather unrealistic mode during a scene that is supposed to be ominous. It comes off as a bit phony and overly cinematic. Yet Natwick is finally freed by the script when the film progresses and, although she fades into the woodwork at times, we come to like her and her character. Natwick pulls off a part that others could have overblown yet she her self could have been more reserved at times. Marshall isn't quite so wobbly yet we don't like him as much. He's far too reserved and rather bland.

Based on a play by Sir Arthur Wing Pinero, the script by DeWitt Bodeen and Herman J. Mankiewicz teeters between poetic and dramatic. At times it can be a bit overblown, like the aforementioned dialogue between Natwick and McGuire, but it can rebound quickly to become sweet and sentimental. The film opens with Marshall throwing a party to introduce his new musical composition based on the story of Laura and Oliver (Young) and the "Enchanted Cottage." The lights are turned off and the music begins but neither the music nor a conversation propels the plot. Marshall has to narrate for a bit to get things rolling. The scripters pull these kind of tricks at times, showing us their lack of talent yet, when all the elements come together, the film can be quite compelling and wonderfully magical. At times it is even beautifully poetic. Still, we see that with a better script, the film could be so much better.

What makes the film work, other than McGuire's charm, is director John Cromwell and his behind-the-scenes staff. Director of Photography Ted Tetzlaff (who later directed films) and Cromwell use lighting perfectly in the film. Sometimes the story compels this, with Young's disfigurement shadowed when he first reappears after the war. But other times, the film's lighting is simply artistic. Echoing the shadows and light of black and white horror films, the eerie shadows and deep slashes of light illuminate a world where love and beauty do not exist. Cromwell delivers a world where Laura Pennington has withdrawn into her hobby of wood carvings and Young has come to hide from the light of day and the eyes of "normal" people. Natwick is hiding too, waiting for a poetic "curse" to disappear. The lighting reflects the psychological realms where the main characters exists. It is no accident that Marshall is blind here. Not only does it serve the plot but it also adds a poetry to this psychic withdrawal. These characters inhabit a world where physical appearances don't exist - or if they do, they can be shadowed by the blinding light of love. The mood Cromwell sets here perfectly articulates the "feeling" of the plot.

There are problems with this film; The script is faulty and the music doesn't have the impact it should. It's odd that music plays an integral part in the plot, and 3 credits go to those involved with the film's score, and yet the film's score is either drab or overly dramatic throughout. This may be the film's biggest flaw.

But overall, "The Enchanted Cottage" is a wondrous film. This piece celebrates the magic of love, it shows us love through the eyes of lovers. It's a allegory that expresses the old adage: "love is blind" and it does so in a charming and often poetic way.

Note: Also with Spring Byington, Richard Gaines, Alec Englander, Robert Clarke and Eden Nicholas.

Produced by Harriet Parsons. Assistant Director is Fred Fleck. Music by Roy Webb. Musical Director is C. Bakaleinkoff. Orchestral Arrangements by Gil Grau.

The play was set in post-WWI England, this has the locale moved to Post WWII New England. Previously made into a silent film in 1924 with Richard Barthelmess and May McAvoy.

Cromwell made over 30 movies in his career including one other with Robert Young, 1934's "Spitfire."

Running time is 92 minutes although one version was cut to 78.

Review written in 1996

Report Card Script: B- Acting: B+ Cinematography\Lighting: A+ Special Effects\Make Up: A+ Music: F Final Grade: B+

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